I think the only main advantage I have is that all wires are running underground here. Telegraph, internet and all the rest.
Most people will get through life without an encounter, for those that do its very unpleasant experience. A lot of people consider that the storm needs to be overhead for a lightning strike. Horizontal lightning can travel 20 to 40 miles before grounding. The recorded record in Texas was over 400 miles before it touched down😬
That’s an interesting point.
When I’ve been alerted to a storm and have looked at the tracker I’ve often seen “rogue” strikes 20 miles or more away from the “pack”. I wonder, is that because the trackers show where the strikes ground, and these were horizontal strikes?
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Surely most if not all horizontal lightning (aka cloud to cloud lightning) will be between cloud to cloud where there is a charge build up relative to around it. I don’t believe horizontal lightning (or intra cloud lightning or cloud to air) poses much danger as by definition it doesn’t pass to ground. Otherwise lightning takes the lowest impedance route to discharge which is the ground which is pretty vertical.
In Germany we had 2 times a notificable thunderstorm here - last night for example (but it was not as bad as last Thursday)
Some of you might had seen it in television 
I powered down everything and now - warming up again… 
In my experience an indirect lightning strike will take out equipment containing electronic components.
An indirect strike 3 miles away can induce an over voltage on an underground cable to a building.
Any hint of lightning I unplug my Naim equipment.
I just don’t fancy the hassle of dealing with my insurance company and trying to prove my kit was fine before the indirect lightning strike. Even if there was no hassle, I do not want to have to go through the process of getting new kit and trying to find second hand Naim psu.
All of the above is naturally just MHO…
As always and forever YMMV.
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Got a lightning strike right on the house (metal chimney) in the middle of the night last week. Too late for a general power off. Damage, yes…the SN3 burned out. Strangely none of my electrical circuits (I have 2) were touched and all was even working during that very short and sudden lightning strike So I suppose the transformer of the SN3 was indirectly hit by a form of induction coming from the chimney to the fireplace, all situated in the same large cupboard.
Assurance will pay for the damage, but interesting to know they made a difference between damage caused by a direct lightning strike and damage caused by a indirect strike over commun public networks.
Lightning is a very weird thing. It hit my house and destroyed almost everything. It killed my one garage door opener, and the one next to it was fine. Some other things that were fine, failed a couple of weeks later. It’s unpredictable!
Just rushed home from the garden centre following a few rumbles. Just as we got home I heard a crack followed about a second later by very loud thunder. I have now switched off and unplugged two stereo systems, tvs, aerials etc. and since then, nothing. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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Here are so much thunderstorms this summer - as the temperature goes up and down all the time.
Do you unplug all the time?
With 500 system it takes some time to get back … but with 500 system it is „better safe than very very very sorry“…
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I have a lightning tracker on my phone that alerts me when strikes are within a 30 mile radius. If I receive a notification I change the setting to 10 miles. If I get another notification of strikes within this radius then I switch off.
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But when you are not at home …
I’ll be aware of forecasted thunderstorms
The BBC forecast for my area the last few days has cited 50%+ chance of heavy rain and potential thunderstorms – the actual has been 2 relatively short light showers. Not even a distant rumble.
I’m not sure what ‘super computer’ the BBC lot use (their 5-day forecasting is often said to be ‘highly reliable’?!), as it’s not been reliable a day ahead for a long time now – and things change markedly between the forecast at late evening and the following morning.
It’s a bit like the little boy who cried ‘wolf’…
Yes, I found the BBC app is too pessimistic as well, so I switched to using the Met Office app which to me seems much more realistic.
My guess would be that the BBC app algorithm is set to err too far on the side of caution.
I think the BBC used MeteoGroup for their weather forecasting, the Met Office having lost the contract a while back – and I think it’s been said on here before, other sources & apps appear much more accurate (and sometimes massively in conflict it seems!).
Presumably switching off the tracker, which saves you fretting!
Now retired and at home 90% of the time I can easily switch off when required. When we were both working and there was lightening there was nothing to be done. My boss seemed unsympathetic when I suggested I should be allowed compassionate leave to go switch-off my hi-fi.
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